Week 16 Picks: Holiday Special!

What could be better than Christmas eve? A full day of football on Christmas eve, of course! Week 16 action kicked off with the Indianapolis Colts upsetting the AFC South champion Texans, 19-16, capturing its second win of the season.

Saturday afternoon's games consist of several great matchups, many of which play a huge role in deciding the seeding for the postseason. Not to mention the NFC East and AFC West divisions, both of which are still up for grabs in these final two weeks of the regular season.

Here are my picks for Saturday's games, and Sunday night and Monday night's games as well.

Sidenote: One last thing, if I'm unable to post again before Sunday then Happy Holidays to my readers! I fully intend to post again before then, but just in case...

Saturday December 24, 2011

Ravens over Browns...No Colt McCoy again this week, so I think it's safe to say Baltimore can rest linebacker Ray lewis if need be, and not have any trouble winning out to capture the North title. Even if Joe Flacco decides to no-show against another team with a losing record.

Broncos over Bills...A win here for Tebow, one week off the biggest loss of his career against New England, would wrap up the AFC West for the Broncos. This would be one of the biggest mid-season comebacks we've seen in years, and would make for quite a story–I can assure you.

Panthers over Bucs...Last week rookie quarterback Cam Newton took another step towards the coveted Offensive Rookie of the Year award in an upsetting victory over the Texans. I think his quest will continue against the disappointing Bucs.

Bengals over Cardinals...Rookie quarterback Andy Dalton is another great 2011 NFL storyline. A win this week, and a New York Jets' loss (I'm not banking on that happening, but anything is possible) would put them in great position to capture the sixth-seed in the AFC playoffs the following week against Baltimore.

Chiefs over Raiders...No McFadden for the eighth straight game, and Kansas City is coming off its biggest win of the season against the once-undefeated Packers.

Patriots over Dolphins...Like Baltimore, New England is looking to solidify a first round bye in the playoffs and a victory this week over Miami woud put them one step closer to that and home-field advantage throughout the postseason.

Jets over Giants...This is a matchup that needs to be settled on the field, and not in the press room (*cough cough* Rex Ryan *cough cough*), although I do believe Ryan's Jets will back up that talk this week against a Giants team that has suffered a lot of injuries to key players.

Steelers over Rams...Smart move on Pittsburgh's part, resting quarterback Ben Roethlisberger (high left ankle sprain) and starting veteran backup Charlie Batch instead. But, on the other sideline second-year Sam Bradford is battling injuries of his own. Kellen Clemens will be tossed in the mix against Pittsburgh, starting the game against Pittsburgh. Look out, Kellen.

Titans over Jaguars...Mike Munchak has stated that he is sticking with veteran Matt Hasselbeck in this week's must-win matchup with Jacksonville, rather than rookie Jake Locker who played half of last week's loss against Indy. If Tennessee (7-7) doesn't win this game they can kiss their playoff hopes goodbye.

Redskins over Vikings...Unfortunately this game doesn't have any sort of playoff implications, both teams are simply playing for pride these last two weeks of the season. The Skins are the hotter team (and by "hotter," I mean they are 2-8 in last 10 weeks), so I'll take them over the hapless Vikes. Looks like Minnesota's losing streak will extend to seven games.

Lions over Chargers...San Diego needs a victory and a prayer, however all the Lions need is a victory to make it back to the playoffs for the first time since 1999. At 9-5, Detroit can practically smell the postseason. All they need to do is stick it to Philip Rivers and the Bolts for 60 minutes, and I think Ndamukong Suh can take care of that.

Cowboys over Eagles...Ah, yes, the game of the week. This game not only effects Philly and Dallas, but also the Giants as well. If Dallas wins, which I believe will happen because I don't believe in the Tony Romo/December curse, then we will be set-up to witness a NY/DAL showdown the following week for all the marbles: the NFC East crown. What a great two weeks of football.

'Hawks over Niners...One of the top defenses in the game, in fact I would go as far as saying that I believe the Niners own the best all-around defense in the league, but I am going to go on a limb and call the upset. Seattle has quietly crept up to .500, winning three straight and five out of the last six. At 3-1 in the division (just like SF) I think they have a shot as long as they protect the football. Lose and they are out of playoff contention, though. Win or die time in Seattle.

Sunday December 25, 2011

Packers over Bears...Once you're done unwrapping all your presents and eating dinner with the family you can turn your attention to the Sunday night game. Prior to the season this matchup was sure to be a great one, although looking at it now it's not nearly as exciting. Green Bay has already lost the perfect season and Chicago, without Cutler, has benched Caleb Hanie and will be starting Josh McCown. But we do, however, have a great "win or go home" scenario for the 7-7 Bears.

Monday December 26, 2011

Saints over Falcons...THIS is the prime-time matchup we'll all be waiting for this weekend. Drew Brees is just 305 yards shy of surpassing Dan Marino's single-season passing yards record of 5,084 (1984 season). Brees will likely be coming out and throwing right away, so I expect New Orleans to jump ahead early, handing Atlanta its sixth loss of the year and putting its playoff hopes on hold another week.

Photo credit

A.J. Green: Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images

DeMarcus Ware: Rob Carr/Getty Images

Week 15 Picks: Make or Break for the Playoffs

Technically the playoffs haven't started yet, but playoff football started a couple of weeks ago. Three teams have clinched spots (Green Bay, New Orleans and Houston), but the rest still have three weeks to play good football.

Lucky for us, we get to witness the 10 or 12 more teams fight for their right to play in the second season for the remaining three weeks.

Here's who I believe will win each matchup today, (and tomorrow).

Sunday December 18

Dolphins over Bills

Buffalo has taken quite the fall after starting off 2011 with a strong performance. Since starting off 5-2, the Bills have lost 6 straight and fallen to 5-8. Depressing, but maybe not quite as depressing as Miami's 0-7 start. Since then, however the 'Phins have gone 3-2.

Seahawks over Bears

Caleb Hanie isn't exactly the Jay Cutler replacement that Chicago was hoping for. In five games, Hanie has thrown just two touchdowns compared to six interceptions, 502 yards and has put up a quarterback rating of 48.6. Completing about half of his pass attempts, the Bears offense has struggled to put point up on the board (13 combined in past two games).

Texans over Panthers

Sit the starters? Psh, that's not how Houston does it. How are they going to sit their third string quarterback anyways? They may have already captured the AFC South, but that doesn't mean they are necessarily just going to fold in the regular season. It shouldn't be a problem handling the 4-9 Panthers. Let's just hope they don't lose T.J. Yates to injury, too.

Titans over Colts

At this point, I'm kind of rooting for a winless season from Indianapolis. It'd make a very interesting story, woudn't it?? I know that Peyton Manning wouldn't enjoy that too much, but at least it's something that he can't control.

Packers over Chiefs

Everyone expected last week's Green Bay matchup to be quite close, but they ended up hanging Oakland an embarrassing 46-16 loss instead. If anyone thinks this week will be any different, they have a huge surprise coming their way.

Saints over Vikings

Adrian Peterson should be back–only because he doesn't want to let his fantasy owners down though, of course. But just because AP is likely to break out with 120 yards and a pair of touchdowns doesn't mean the Vikings will upset the playoff bound Saints.

Giants over Skins

Washington is another team with a fast start who has since cooled off. In the last five weeks the Redskins have gone 1-4 while the Giants are coming off a 37-34 victory over the division-leading Dallas Cowboys (8-6 after last night's 31-15 win over Tampa Bay).

Bengals over Rams

Cincy is on a two-game losing streak, but they are fighting for their playoff hopes and must win out just to have a shot at catching New York (Jets) and Pittsburgh. At 7-6, the Bengals have struggled to beat inter-division rivals Baltimore and Pittsburgh (2-3 in AFC North). Rookie quarterback Andy Dalton has a strong future though.

Lions over Raiders

Personally I'm not completely sold on Carson Palmer's return to football. But he has time to further prove himself to me, just maybe not this season. At 7-6, the Raiders are fighting for their playoff chances as well, I just don't think they'll have much success in the final three weeks. As for Detroit, they are in great position, especially after this win today.

Browns over Cardinals

One of the games with absolutely zero playoff contention. Arizona will be without quarterback Kevin Kolb, who has proven himself as one of the biggest busts in this year's free agency period. I would like to hope that Peyton Hillis can finally have a successful day against this Cardinal defense, but we'll see.

Patriots over Broncos

I'm sold on the "winning" of Tim Tebow, just not against a team of New England's capability. Tebow has managed to pull off victories against teams because his defense has kept him in the games, but against a team of New England's level I'm just not sure they can keep up with Brady and Co. for three-plus quarters. Minnesota, without Peterson, put up 32 on Denver...can they really keep the Pats to anything less than that? I highly doubt it.

Jets over Eagles

Philly is done. New York, however, are fighting to keep their one-game lead over the second Wild Card spot. So I would like to think that they are a little more motivated to win this game over the Eagles, who have checked out of this season weeks ago. Or so it seems, at least.

Ravens over Chargers

They are 3-3 on the road, but that doesn't mean much in this instance. San Diego is 2-3 over the last five games, and at 6-7 I don't see them in the playoffs. It would take a miracle. But as for Baltimore, if they win it would put them one game closer to a division title.

Monday December 20

Niners over Steelers

Whether or not Ben Roethlisberger plays, the Steelers are doomed in this one. Obviously if he does play he wont be 100%, and if he doesn't, then Charlie Batch will be the starter and Pittsburgh is likely to struggle doing anything in the passing game. Pittsburgh (10-3) is a playoff team, but they wont be clinching anything this week.

Photo credit

Caleb Hanie: Doug Pensinger/Getty Images

Steven Jackson: Otto Greule Jr./Getty Images

Dallas Looking to Make Statement Saturday Night vs. Tampa Bay

On the verge of falling out of the NFC playoff picture, the Atlanta Falcons got back in the thick of things with a convincing 41-14 Thursday night win over the struggling Jaguars, improving to 9-5 on the season.

Tonight, in the season's first Saturday night matchup, the Dallas Cowboys are looking to make a similar statement on the road against the 4-9 Buccaneers.

Tony Romo, as we are all well-aware, has a history of falling apart in the month of December. This year has been no exception as his 'Boys are riding a two-game losing streak with back-to-back defeats to Arizona and NFC East counterpart Giants.

Sitting at 7-6 (2-4 on the road), Dallas is tied atop the East with the Giants–well, not quite, New York owns the tiebreaker. So if Jason Garrett expects to make a playoff push they will need to win out, including a victory over New York (Week 17) to clinch the division.

Over the last two weeks, Romo has played great according to the box score. He hasn't turned the ball over and threw for a combined 620 yards and five touchdowns, but did not receive much help from the rest of his team.

Against Arizona, Dallas averaged under four yards per carry (75 yards on 20 carries) and allowed five sacks of Romo. Against New York, the offense did its job in putting up 34 points on the board, but the defense struggled to put pressure on Eli Manning up front and allowed 400 yards through the air as well as 37 points. New York scored 15 points in the final three minutes of the game to complete a late 12-point comeback.

I've heard numerous arguments against Romo over this two-game stretch and I don't quite understand how you can solely put the blame on him. Yes, I would agree to a certain extent that he doesn't always show the strongest leadership abilities on the field, but he orchestrated two quick scoring drives late in the game–one from 80 yards, and one from 49. Dan Bailey missed what would have been a game-tying 51 yard field goal with under a minute to play to end the game for Dallas' offense.

How can this possibly mean Romo is to blame for Dallas' two-game skid? He has played near-perfect football, protecting the ball and getting his offense in the end zone time after time while his defense gives up 56 points over that span.

Even just "looking at the box score" would do Romo justice. You can avoid actually watching the game and instead checking the numbers and you can basically get the whole story. Now, I'm not saying that's what I did, because I did actually watch him play. I'm just saying the box score explains everything and it's tough to argue against his four-touchdown, 321 yard, 141.3 QBR game against New York.

As for tonight against Tampa Bay, I don't think he'd have any trouble continuing his recent success through the air. Tampa Bay is ranked 27th against the pass in terms of yardage, in the bottom five in rushing yards allowed and has allowed the most (19) touchdowns on the ground as well. So even without rookie DeMarco Murray the 'Boys are expected to have great success on the ground tonight. Felix Jones racked up 106 yards against NY last week, and I would expect a heavy dosage again tonight.

This means it will be tough for Tampa to make Dallas' offense one-dimensional. Big day offensively for the Cowboys, I can feel it.

My Prediction: Dallas 31, Tampa Bay 10

Photo credit

Tony Romo: Tom Pennington/Getty Images

LeGarrette Blount: Grant Halverson/Getty Images

Week 14: Teams on Brink of Playoff Berths

Two teams–Green Bay and San Francisco–clinched their respective divisions with victories last weekend. This week's slate of games play a huge role in the playoff hunt.

Scenarios for Week 14:

*New Orleans can clinch the NFC South with a win and an Atlanta loss.

*Houston can clinch the AFC South with a win and a Tennessee loss.

*New England can hold a three-game lead in the AFC East with a win and a New York loss.

*Baltimore can re-gain the AFC North lead (due to tiebreaker over Pittsburgh) with a win.

*Denver can take sole possession of the AFC West with a win and an Oakland loss...and vice versa.

*Even if New York, Cincinnati, Tennessee and Oakland (all currently 7-5 and in the Wild Card hunt) pull off a victory tomorrow, the Steelers (10-3 after Thursday night's hard-fought victory over Cleveland) would still hold a strong two-game lead in the AFC Wild Card race.

*In the NFC, Detroit, Chicago and Atlanta are in a dog fight for the Wild Card spots. All sitting at 7-5, things could get interesting this weekend.

Here are my picks for tomorrow's games:

Ravens over Colts...Even without Ray Lewis on the field, Baltimore's smash-mouth defense are likely to tear Indy's offensive attack apart.

Falcons over Panthers...I'd love to see Cam Newton continue his strong case for the AP Offensive Rookie of the Year award, but against a playoff-hungry Falcons in town that doesn't seem likely.

Texans over Bengals...Having T.J. Yates start just his second career game against a scrappy Bengals squad scares me a little, but as long as Yates protects the football like last week his running game should do the heavy lifting.

Lions over Vikings...Even if Adrian Peterson ends up playing tomorrow, he wont be 100%. Detroit's defense–even without Ndamukong Suh on the field–can contain a banged up Peterson long enough for Matt Stafford to put up some points on Jared Allen & Co.

Bucs over Jags...Josh Freeman's shoulder seems to be slowly healing and he could suit up for Tampa Bay tomorrow. I think it's about time for them to snap that nasty six-game losing streak against a rebuilding Jaguars franchise.

Dolphins over Eagles...Vick is back for Philly but Miami (4-8) is one of the hottest teams in the league right now, winning four out of the last five weeks (the loss was a one-point defeat to Dallas on Thanksgiving). Over that span, Matt Moore has helped the offense put up 30 or more points on three different occasions.

Jets over Chiefs...Battling injury all season long, Kansas City has virtually been knocked out of playoff contention at 5-7, needing a miracle to end the season with four victories to get in the postseason. New York is trying to catch New Enland in the East and is in need of a victory here.

Saints over Titans...This loss would pretty much ruin Tennessee's chances at capturing the division title if Houston also wins (like I'm predicting). I just don't think the defense has what it takes to stop NO's Drew Brees, and Matt Hasselbeck doesn't have the firepower to keep up in a shootout.

Patriots over Skins...Inconsistent play at the quarterback position has been the Achilles heal of the Washington Redskins all season. Tom Brady is bound to have a big game against Washington's defense with targets such as Wes Welker and Rob Gronkowski.

Niners over Cardinals...Alex Smith's revitalized career after five disappointing seasons in San Fran has been one of 2011's nicest surprises. Smith's campaign for 2011 Comeback Player of the Year award will continue against the Cards. If they get a big lead early on it wouldn't surprise me if coach Harbaugh sat the starters in the second half.

Broncos over Bears...I'm a believer in Tim Tebow's ability to win. He's obviously not a pocket passer, or even much of a passer at all. His accuracy is lacking and his ability to see down the field has shown weaknesses. But he's the leader Denver has been missing for years now, and they finally have a winner in Tebow.

Packers over Raiders...Carson Palmer seems to think he's going to be able to go out and keep up with Aaron Rodgers in a possible shootout. Sorry, Carson, but I don't think so. Not only is Rodgers the best signal caller in the game right now, but he also has one of the strongest supporting casts in the league.

Chargers over Bills...San Diego has suffered some heartbreaking losses over the last few weeks, and Buffalo has lost five straight games now. Both at 5-7, SD and Buffalo are both fighting for pride right now and San Diego seems the more liklier team to pull out a much-needed W.

Giants over Cowboys...The G-men have won four of their last five and the 'Boys are in their usual December free-fall–1-4 over that span. A Giants victory would put them at first place in the East with a 7-6 record...Dallas would be a close second (also 7-6, but NY owns tiebreaker).

Monday night game: Seahawks over Rams...Possibly one of the most boring primetime match-ups of the season, these two teams were fighting for the division around this time last year. This year? Seattle finds themselves at 5-7 (3-3 at home) and St. Louis at 2-10 and the very bottom of the West. Marshawn Lynch has been one of the few bright spots in Seattle, and I am suspecting an outstanding performance from him in the run game.

Photo credit

Matt Moore: Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images

Julius Peppers: Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images

Week 1 Game Picks

So far in 2011, I'm one for one in my game picks (predicted Green Bay's defeat of the Saints on Thursday). Not a bad start to the new season, if I do say so myself.

Here are my picks for the opening slate of Sunday afternoon games, plus Sunday and Monday night's games. (Note: normally I would give a couple sentences previewing each game, but I'm on a tight schedule this morning...maybe next week you'll get lucky).

Sunday September 11, 2011

Atlanta over Chicago

Pittsburgh over Baltimore

Cleveland over Cincinnati

Houston over Indianapolis

Tennessee over Jacksonville

Kansas City over Buffalo

Philadelphia over St. Louis

Detroit over Tampa Bay–UPSET

Carolina over Arizona–UPSET

San Diego over Minnesota

Seattle over San Francisco

Washington over New York (Giants)–UPSET

Dallas over New York (Jets)

Monday September 12, 2011

New England over Miami

Oakland over Denver

Photo found on Google, no copyright infringement intended

Nine Division Match-ups Headline Week 13

Here we are, week 13, with the playoff race getting tighter by the minute. This is when teams have to start proving themselves a contender. What better way to do that then with divisional showdowns. Between today and tomorrow night we will get to see nine of them.

Chicago at Detroit

Cutler and his Bears are just trying to extend their lead in the NFC North and, as long as the offensive line can contain rookie defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh, they shouldn't have much trouble in doing so against the 2-9 Lions.

Denver at Kansas City

Josh McDaniels' squad has been perhaps the most inconsistent club all season long. Kansas City, on the other hand, has been going strong all season at 7-4. Kansas City is the league's top rushing team and is 5-0 at home. I don't see any reason why they wont put Denver in their place today and hand them their ninth loss of the season.

Washington at New York

Game No. 1 against the G-men this season, McNabb and the Skins (5-6) are just a couple of big plays away from being contenders in the NFC East. Despite all this talk, Washington is 2-3 in its past five games and have struggled to finish games. Giants take this one with a solid day from Eli Manning.

Jacksonville at Tennessee

Kerry Collins will finally make his return today after leaving week 10's loss against the Dolphins with a calf injury. This should hopefully limit the turnovers to a minimum and allow Nate Washington and Randy Moss to make some plays. Chris Johnson should have a nice return as well, Tennessee takes this one.

Oakland at San Diego

The MVP front-runner (Phillip Rivers) has turned around San Diego's rough season, taking them on a four-game win streak, and has them above .500 at 6-5. Oakland, however, has hit a cold streak with two straight losses and is now back under .500. No way the Oakland defense will manage to contain Rivers, especially with the possibility of Vincent Jackson getting some looks.

St. Louis at Arizona

The Sam Bradford-led Rams, along with Seattle, are the only teams leading a division with a losing record (both Rams and Seahawks currently sit at 5-6), so winning this game against Derek Anderson and the 3-8 Cardinals is a big game. St. Louis is 1-4 on the road, but I expect them to pull out a victory and improve to 6-6.

Atlanta at Tampa Bay

Two games behind Atlanta in the NFC South, this is certainly Tampa Bay's chance at proving they belong in the playoff talk. But Atlanta, currently on a five-game win streak, is on fire and I doubt Josh Freeman will be able to out-gun the fiery Matt Ryan. Atlanta wins big as Tampa further hurts its playoff hopes.

Pittsburgh at Baltimore

Perhaps one of the biggest games of the entire weekend, along with Monday night's game. Ben Roethlisberger was still serving his four-game suspension when the two met earlier in the season, with a Baltimore victory. Baltimore looks to be the more complete team at this point, and Joe Flacco's offense will pull together a victory to break the two-way tie in the North. First Baltimore sweep of Pittsburgh since 2006, but don't be surprised if they meet again in the postseason.

New York at New England

The hyped second match-up between Rex Ryan and Bill Belichick is finally here, and what better time to watch it play out then on national television in primetime. You can't get any more even in this matchup, either. Both hold win streaks of three and four games and are 4-1 in their last five games. New England is 5-0 at home, New York is 5-0 on the road. Something's gotta give, and I think New England will pull ahead in this one with the help of Tom Brady's right arm.

Other game predictions:

Saints over Bengals

Packers over Niners

Browns over Dolphins

Vikings over Bills

Colts over Cowboys

Panthers over Seahawks

Week 11 Picks: Colts/Pats Game to Watch

Thursday November 18, 2010

**Picked Bears over Dolphins (Bears shut out Dolphins 16-0)**

Sunday November 21, 2010

Ravens over Panthers...With one of last season's best run games battling injuries, and Brian St. Pierre making the first start of his prolonged career there's no way Carolina will manage to outscore Baltimore.

Jets over Texans...Battling to keep up with the Pats, Sanchez will be healthier than last week and likely ready to go.

Browns over Jaguars...Browns, surprisingly enough, have been playing good football lately, upsetting the Saints and Pats and falling just short to the 7-2 Jets.

Packers over Vikings...Favre's last game against Green Bay. I guess it's just too bad the Packers are playing better football at the current moment.

Chiefs over Cardinals...Undefeated at home, the Chiefs are looking to snap its two game losing streak and stay alive in the West.

Cowboys over Lions...Jon Kitna facing his former team and it looks like Dallas may finally have a little confidence after defeating Eli Manning's Giants.

Raiders over Steelers...Oakland upset Pittsburgh last season too, only this time it may not even be considered an upset considering how well Oakland (5-4) has been playing lately.

Bengals over Bills...Terrell Owens will be looking to impress his 2009 team, and Carson Palmer shouldn't have much trouble against Buffalo's defense.

Titans over Redskins...It's going to be tough to rebound after allowing 59 points to the Eagles on the biggest stage of the weekend (MNF). I say Tennessee's high-powered offense puts up 30.

Saints over Seahawks...With Reggie Bush likely to return, the Saints are looking to take control of the NFC South.

Niners over Bucs...This will be considered an upset, although I never really thought of the Bucs as contenders despite the 6-3 record.

Falcons over Rams...Atlanta is one of the league's best teams, if not the best. After Matt Ryan led the offense 80 yards in just over one minute to win the game against Baltimore's smash-mouth defense, I was convinced that they are Super Bowl contenders this season.

Patriots over Colts...No doubt the matchup of the weekend. After witnessing Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski dominate Pittsburgh's stellar defense on Sunday night, I'm convinced that they wont have much trouble putting points up against this banged up Colts team.

Eagles over Giants...Much like the Pats, it's really hard to doubt the Eagles after last week's 59-point performance. Michael Vick will carve up New York's defense and we will see how Eli Manning responds after being upset by Dallas last week.

Monday November 22, 2010

Chargers over Broncos...Tim Tebow throwing his first touchdown as a pro, and running for another, was a great story in the Broncos' 49-point game last week, but let's face it, Josh McDaniels has a little more work to do.

Byes: None

Who will shock the world this week??

Photo Credit:

Driver and Favre: AP Photo/Morry Gash

Jason Snelling: AP Photo/John Bazemore

Week 9 Picks

Sunday November 7, 2010

Falcons over Bucs

Ravens over Dolphins

Bills over Bears

Saints over Panthers

Patriots over Browns

Jets over Lions

Texans over Chargers

Vikings over Cardinals

Giants over Seahawks

Raiders over Chiefs

Eagles over Colts

Packers over Cowboys

Monday November 8, 2010

Steelers over Bengals

Byes: Broncos, Titans, Jaguars, Redskins, Rams, Niners

Week Three Picks

I never got to post my week two picks, so I had to make sure I didn't forget this week. Luckily for us, there is plenty of exciting division matchups in line for us this week.

Sunday September 26, 2010

Giants over Titans

Both teams are looking to bounce back after embarrassing losses, but I think, despite being blown out by the Colts (38-14) Eli and his Giants are in a better position to win this matchup. Vince Young may not be himself after being benched the fourth quarter of last week's game against the Steelers. Hopefully they wont turn the ball over seven times again this week.

Bengals over Panthers

If Carolina's run game continues to struggle then this game could get ugly considering rookie quarterback Jimmy Clausen will be making his first career start. Cincinnati's underrated defense should pressure Clausen plenty and I expect Carson Palmer and his plethora of talent in the receiving game to have great days.

Steelers over Bucs

With Charlie Batch at quarterback, expect running back Rashard Mendenhall to get plenty of carries. Pittsburgh proved last week that they don't need to pass the ball all that much to win a game with a defense like theirs.

Patriost over Bills

Buffalo is 2-18 against the Pats since 2000. I doubt this time around will be much different with Buffalo going through another quarterback crisis. Trent Edwards was benched for veteran Ryan Fitzpatrick. Should be interesting to see how he fares.

Ravens over Browns

If Flacco can bounce back from his career-worst four interceptions against the Bengals last week we should see a Baltimore victory over Cleveland. With Jake Delhomme listed as doubtful with an ankle injury, it's likely that Seneca Wallace will be starting.

49ers over Chiefs

Alex Smith had a stellar final drive last week against the Saints' defense, despite the loss. If Patrick Willis and Co. can contain the run game, they shouldn't have much trouble handing the Chiefs their first loss of the season.

Texans over Cowboys

The battle of Texas belongs to the Texans this year, they are clearly the best team right now. Romo's 'Boys will go 0-3 as the Texans get off to the best start in their franchise's history. Expect a big game from Andre Johnson and Arian Foster as well.

Lions over Vikings

I'm calling the upset right now. Favre is obviously struggling without healthy receivers and Shaun Hill and rookie Jahvid Best managed to put up 32 points against the Eagles last week. It's kind of a longshot but it's certainly possible if Detroit can contain Adrian Peterson.

Falcons over Saints

Another upset here. Atlanta looked impressive in its 41-7 blowout victory over the Cards last week, and Matt Ryan is obviously poised to get back to the playoffs. After watching the Niners come just short of upsetting New Orleans last week, the Falcons are probably even more motivated to defeat the defending champs.

Redskins over Rams

Washington is feeling pretty disappointing after the overtime loss to the 2-0 Texans, a nice bounce back game against rookie quarterback Sam Bradford and the 0-2 Rams is exactly what these Skins need. McNabb should have a nice game against this defense, as well.

Eagles over Jaguars

With Vick making another start, Philadelphia seems to be ready for a playoff run. With Maurice Jones-Drew banged up and the Jags' secondary struggling, Philly is likely to take advantage of this opportunity and get another big win.

Colts over Broncos

This is a huge game for Denver, but they wont be coming out on top with Peyton in town. Denver's defense took some huge hits during training camp with injuries and Knowshon Moreno isn't likely to play either. Peyton's Colts come out on top with a big win.

Cardinals over Raiders

Oakland is another team going through a quarterback crisis after benching for Redskin Jason Campbell last week. With Bruce Gradkowski starting for Campbell, I expect the offense to take a step back and for Derek Anderson to take advantage of the situation.

Chargers over Seahawks

Pete Carroll's 1-1 'Hawks were blown out by Denver last week (31-14) as San Diego blew out Jacksonville. Seattle's defense will struggle against Philip Rivers despite the injury to the Bolts' rookie running back Ryan Mathews. San Diego wins, but Seattle's offense does make it a close game.

Jets over Dolphins

Mark Sanchez bounced back great against division rival New England last week, meaning good news in New York. Miami's 2-0 start may be the result in team's digging their own grave rather than Miami straight up outplaying them (15-10 win over Buffalo, 14-10 win over Minnesota). Sanchez's impressive game last week is enough for me to pick the Jets over the Dolphins.

Monday September 27, 2010

Packers over Bears

The NFL's oldest rivalry is renewed in prime time. Great matchup each and every year. But, Green Bay owns Jay Cutler and Aaron Rodgers, being the elite quarterback he is, will own Chicago's secondary. Packers win without even running the ball all that much (approximately 20 carries for Ryan Grant's replacement, Brandon Jackson).

Photo Credits

Johnson and Polamalu: AP Photo/Frederick Breedon
Gore: AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez
Best: AP Photo/Rick Osentoski
Broncos: AP Photo/Matt McClain
Tomlinson: AP Photo/Bill Kostroun